OE feolheard and OE irenheard: Two hapax legomena reconsidered (Old English literature, 'Battle of Maldon')

The unique compound feolheard in The Battle of Maldon line 108b has been va riously interpreted as 'hardened by the file' or 'as hard as a file.' The f ormer would correspond to a well-evidenced pattern of word-formation in Old English, whereas the latter would represent a type unparalleled in the kno wn corpus. Comparison with other Old English compounds in -heard strongly s upports the interpretation 'hardened by the file,' and also suggests that t he unique compound irenheard in Beowulf line 112a should be taken to mean n ot 'as hard as iron' but 'hardened by the sword.'